Creed attends major Agriculture Minister's Conference in Berlin - Minister avails of opportunity to further Brexit engagement with EU colleagues

The Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine, Michael Creed TD, travels to Germany today to attend the ninth Berlin Agriculture Ministers’ Conference. The Conference takes place as part of the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture, an important annual gathering of Agriculture Ministers from around the world, held during Berlin Green Week. The theme of this year’s Global Forum is “Agriculture and Water - Key to Feeding the World”.

Speaking before his departure today, the Minister said: “I am looking forward to participating in what has become an increasingly important event on the global agriculture calendar. This year’s theme has great resonance for Ireland in the context of the important role that good water quality plays in the production of safe, sustainable food. Sustainable farming practices are key to Ireland’s food production system, and underpin the ambitious development plans for the agri-food sector set out in the Food Wise 2025 strategy. I hope to be able to share experience and also benefit from the different perspectives of Ministers from the EU and from around the world as we deal with the challenge of protecting and sustainably using this vital resource.”

The Global Forum will have more than 70 Ministers in attendance, including more than 20 from EU Member States. As such it will provide Minister Creed with a very useful opportunity to raise other issues of interest on a bilateral basis. A key priority in this regard is Brexit, on which the Minister commented: “In recent months I have been consulting EU colleagues on a regular basis in the Council of Agriculture Ministers and in other fora on the implications of Brexit, and stressing the need for the potential impact on the agri-food sector to be fully taken into account in the upcoming negotiations. This weekend’s conference is an ideal opportunity to further that engagement. In addition to meeting my UK counterpart, Andrea Leadsom, I intend to raise the matter with colleagues from other Member States, and to intensify the contacts that have already been made with a view to ensuring that agri-food impacts are at the top of the EU agenda.”

Concluding, the Minister said that his Brexit engagement will continue and intensify over the coming weeks – including at next week’s Council of Agriculture Ministers in Brussels - and will continue to be reinforced by contacts between officials from his Department and counterparts in other Member States.